


Mesozoic Madness

by pseudoku



Category: Chrono Trigger
Genre: Dinosaurs, Gen, Mad Science, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-16
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-02-13 10:45:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2147805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pseudoku/pseuds/pseudoku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lucca notices some discrepancies between the team's experience in prehistoric times and modern archaeological records. Her and Crono head back to make sure there are no more loose ends they need to tie up. The result? Dinosaurs. Lots and lots of dinosaurs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Clean-Up Crew

"You know, a good lab assistant should play a more active role when there's work to be done. Bringing tools, pulling giant switches, that sort of thing. Not just waiting until we get to the part where you can hit something."

Crono stood apart from the Epoch, watching with arms crossed as Lucca sat in the cockpit performing some last-minute tune-ups out of his line of sight. Only the occasional sound of something metallic and heavy being dropped, followed by a steady stream of obscenities, indicated to him that she was still hard at work.

"Alright..." he wearily replied, looking around the hangar for anything that resembled a giant switch, "what do you need me to do?"

Lucca rose her head, thought about that for a moment, and replied "Nothing really... but would it kill you to look a little busier? The harder an assistant works, the better it reflects on the scientist!"

Crono blinked twice in response. He then began pacing the hangar's perimeter, on the lookout for anything he could help with that wasn't too over his head. The place was large enough that there must be **something**. Between the reclusiveness of the Ashtear household, and the seemingly endless bank account of Lucca's dad, it didn't take long for this structure to be raised as a holding spot for their flying time machine, but you wouldn't know that from the finished product.

After Crono, Lucca and Marle no longer needed the Epoch for imminent world-saving reasons, Lucca was actually the first to suggest dismantling the device to prevent from falling into the wrong hands. That lasted about 4 minutes, before the three suddenly needed it one more time to save his mother (and cat) from a completely unrelated time-travel misadventure. She then came to a different conclusion about the epoch: there was no way to know for sure how many messes might still be left over from their experience. Should another one arise, easy access to a time machine would certainly be helpful.

After convincing himself that there was nothing needing the expert touch of Crono, sword-swinger and part time lightning rod, he returned to the epoch and rapped his knuckles on the hull to get Lucca's attention.

"Come to think of it, I probably should have asked this by now," he said, "but what exactly am I your lab partner FOR, anyway?"

"Assistant,” she corrected. “And to answer your question, lots of reasons! you take orders well, you don't ask too many questions, you've got a strong back..." she paused for a moment, "Also I value and cherish our friendship."

"Clearly" Crono muttered. He glanced at a pile of maps that seemed to take precedence on a nearby workbench, since they were piled over top of the existing textbooks and spare electronics that Lucca always seemed to leave in her wake. "What I mean is, what are you up to that required calling me over in the first place? We haven't used this thing since we had to fight those evil bipedal amoebas that evolved from that batch of bad panacea we left behind in the middle ages."

"Heh. We used to drink so much of that stuff..." Lucca said as she wiped the sweat off her forehead, a "those were the days" expression plastered on her face, "Anyway, it's nothing bad. There's just a little mystery that needs solving."

"What kind of mystery"?

"The archeological kind". She then jumped out of the cockpit, following Crono's gaze and making her way to the workbench.

"You've probably noticed these maps are a rough charting of the world's continental formations during the prehistoric era, around the time that we first met Ayla."

"Yes. Yes that's exactly what I noticed."

"Well, I've been doing a little reading on what we've learned about this time period in the modern era, and there's a few things that have concerned me about the Reptites."

Crono raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"Such as there weren't any. At least, not at the same time that we existed. There's been plenty of findings about both species, but nothing implying we ever lived at the same time period."

"So maybe we just haven't looked hard enough?"

"It's possible, yeah. Or maybe we screwed up more than we realized on this one."

Crono picked up the map, along with some geological reports hidden underneath. "Alright, so you want to head back and check whether we have any damage control to do?"

Lucca smiled. "You'll come along, right? You wouldn't leave tiny little me to fend for myself against armies of giant, rampaging carnivores would you?"

"Lucca, you have a gun that, as far as I understand it, you made from a piece of the sun."

"Alright, fine." she said, "I wanted someone to talk to, and like I said, you're a good listener. Besides, Marle said she had some sort of royal event today, and I'm not letting nobility get in the way of science."

They both already knew that Crono would say yes. It wouldn't be the same if he wasn't there to play the straight man to Lucca's zeal, and maybe prod at her ego a bit. For one thing, it seemed to help motivate her, and when you're friends with a super genius, it's nice to know that you had a part to play in their accomplishments. On the other hand, he knew how to take just enough wind out of her sails to make him less fearful for the planet's safety. At her best, Lucca could accidentally create a time machine. At her worst, she could, well, accidentally create a time machine.

"You're lucky I'm such a hero", he said after faking a few moments' thought, "Now when do we get started?"

 

The epoch had a lot more space than usual with only two passengers. Lucca was going over her notes in the back, so Crono took it upon himself to drive. The dashboard contained a display with two date/time indicators: One keeping track of their current time and location, the other showing where they're headed. Lucca had already programmed it to take them back to prehistoric times, so they were ready to go whenever he chose.

"So the plan is to go back to before Ayla's time, check out the natural progression of reptites and primates, and make sure we didn't screw that up?"

"Technically, yes" Lucca said, "But when I say 'before' Ayla's time, I mean about a million years prior, so don't expect to run into her great-grandma or anything. We need a time frame where it'll be easy enough to get an idea for how things are at one specific point, and extrapolate from there. Sorry, you probably won't be getting any more of that 'special soup.'"

"Whatever. You're just jealous that you spent most of first-contact with your prehistoric ancestors hung over. Lightweight."

"Spoken like a man who's buying the first round when we get back."

Crono thought about that a moment, "Well. That depends on how well being a lab assistant pays."

He pushed a button, and a moment later everything went white.

 

The first thing Crono noticed after the time phase was the warmth. For some reason, the more drastic changes between time periods always took his brain some time to process. As far as it was concerned, he hadn't moved an inch. The heat in prehistoric times however, or the cold of their post-apocalyptic future: these were easy sensations to recognize. As far as his subconscious was concerned, the sun had simply broken through the clouds a moment ago.

Before long, he slowly became aware of his surroundings again. They had stopped over a plot of dense foliage. In any direction, the terrain could be described only in broad strokes. Swamps, clearings, the occasional dry patch. It was wilderness, even more so than in Ayla's time, and Crono got the impression that it wasn't a world that enjoyed having guests.

He turned to see Lucca already glancing back and forth between her maps and the world beneath them. In the absence of anything resembling a landmark, she needed to make note of their rough-location based on where they were in the modern era.

"Any idea which direction we should try first?" Crono asked, "Or should I just start driving until we notice a time paradox?"

Lucca looked at her map one more time before pointing to his 10 o'clock. "That way, for about fifty kilometres. That should take us in the vicinity of Ayla's old village. They didn't seem like a very nomadic tribe, so if they had set roots there long before we arrived, we might start to see early clues about what made that location so appealing."

"Works for me. I would've, you know, just asked Ayla about it, but you're the scientist."

"No need to be snippy. We're on a potential clean-up mission, remember? The less we directly interfere with, the better, so I'd like to avoid getting in touch with Ayla's people if it's at all possible."

Crono silently conceded the point, then flew in the direction he'd been told. The vicinity she'd pointed to was by no means prime real-estate, but there were wide enough clearings to made landing no issue. The Epoch silently disembarked in a rough patch of grass and soil. A moment later, its glass dome opened and the two leaped out in unison.

Lucca began by pulling out some equipment and a few well-worn notebooks. For the first time it occurred to Crono that she might have actually *meant* it when she said this would be an archeological trip, and not just non-stop treasure-hunting and spelunking. In one quick flash of awareness, he realized he had no idea what they were actually doing.

"I'm, uh, going to establish a perimeter around the Epoch," he shouted, already heading off, "you know, make sure the general area is good and monster-free. Holler if you need me."

Lucca grunted in response, still sifting through the back of the Epoch for something else. He took that as a sign that he was good to go.

Once he approached the outskirts of the clearing, the surroundings definitely felt like reptite territory. Paths existed, but with growth that constantly shouldered into your way; branching turns that led to nothing but gave a brief advantage to anyone with an ambush in mind. That struck Crono as odd, after he thought about it. Lucca had said that humans shouldn't have existed yet, so what kind of predators could have existed that would provoke the reptites to engage in guerrilla warfare?

Crono focused on the wildlife that surrounded him, expecting something to jump out at any moment... which was why he found himself jumping back at the sound of a scream in the distance.

It was a loud, shrill, reptilian scream that came from straight ahead. Crono sprinted forward to find that another small clearing wasn't far off. In it, just over the horizon, a small, bipedal dinosaur was running at top speed, with a much, much larger one in hot pursuit. They looked to be a few hundred yards off, currently, but were advancing fast.

Crono realized he didn't have much time for decision making, drew his sword, and glanced back for a moment. Lucca must have heard the sound as well, as he could see her in distance, running to investigate as well. He took the moment to hide behind some nearby bushes before she caught up with him, crouching, gun in hand.

"Thoughts?" he whispered, impatient.

"Well, the small one's definitely a Gallimimus. You can tell by the somewhat bill-like beak and the completely unopposed fingers. I'm not sure if it's fully grown though, since it's only about a meter and a half-"

"I meant thoughts about what we should do," he interrupted. "The little one might, I don't know... know something?"

"Good point! Now, judging by the protruding bone on the predator's ant-orbital rim, I'd hazard it's a Carcharodetnosaurus, and almost definitely full-grown. There weren't many bigger carnivores around this time, so I doubt it would see us as anything more than a meal, but-"

"I'm going to hit something with my sword now," Crono said.

 

By this point both reptites were within 50 yards or so from their position, so it wasn't long before he could meet the Carcho... Carcharo... the big one head on. Lucca probably had a speech about time-line conservation coming up, but he decided that could wait until afterwards. Besides, this would be far from the worst thing they'd ever done to mess with history.

The Gallimimus seemed to see Crono as nothing more than an obstacle and promptly tripped over itself veering away. A moment later it had taken refuge in the same woods the two of them had emerged from, and he promptly filed that part under "Lucca's problem."

The predator, on seeing Crono, seemed to consider one meal source a suitable replacement for the other, and promptly changed its focus. He remembered enough from their last trip to the prehistoric era to know that with reptites this big, you're really only fighting their heads. Most of its body seemed designed to keep itself properly balanced, and although they were fast, Crono didn't really consider himself a slouch in that regard either. Not to brag or anything.

The Reptite, as expected, lunged its face forward, taking a head on bite at Crono. On pure instinct, he dashed back while wildly swinging his sword downward. The creature's curved snout made the impact less dead on, but it still connected, and the creature still reeled back (more in offence than pain, it appeared). It shook its head, let out another screech, then advanced again.

It seemed to be learning from its mistakes, as it now turned its head horizontally, trying to ensnare Crono from the sides, and with greater reach. This time, instinct didn't serve him quite so well: he recognized that another leap back probably wouldn't leave him out of that mouth's range, so instead he jumped forward, landing on its neck and running forward up the Reptite's back. Prior to that moment, however, he hadn't noticed that its spine protruded spikes, giving him zero flat surface to work with. The predator arched itself up immediately, sending Crono toppling down its left side.

Frantic, he stabbed his sword at the beast's side, finding its mark and penetrating thick skin... only to find it stuck in place, himself holding onto the hilt with one hand, in prime range for the reptite to turn around and take one quick bite at any moment. His options, as he saw them, were:

A: Stay with the sword and die.

B: Abandon the sword. And probably die.

Before the monster seemed fully aware of its advantage, however, an option C presented itself in the form of a giant fireball. It had leaped forward in a parabola from the woods, and finished its arc on the grass in front of them. The reptite reeled back again, made some threatening motions at the ring of fire before him (and giving Crono time dislodge the sword/himself), then warily started retreating back from whence it came.

Crono had landed on his back with the wind knocked out of him. After a few moments of painful reflection he slowly regained his composure, by which time Lucca was standing over him, a blank look on her face. Nearby, the smaller reptite was looking at the two of them with its head cocked slightly to the side.

"Right. So. As I was trying to say," she began, "this fellow here would have been our best bet for information even if it wasn't in need of saving by a couple of heroes like us.

"How do you figure?" the reptite asked. Crono suspected a weariness in his expression, but he didn't exactly have a lot of practice reading reptite body language, so he couldn't know for sure.

"Gallimimus," Lucca continued, "roughly translates to 'Chicken Mimic', and was a species likely unsuitable for preying on anything larger than small mammals. You're also very likely to have been herd animals who found safety in numbers. So, as a thank-you for saving your life, what do you say you tell us what you were doing alone out here?"

"First," it responded, "tell me what a chicken is."

"A plentiful, well loved species from where we're from", Lucca answered before Crono had time to open his mouth.

He took a moment to think about that, before saying "Alright, that can work. To answer your question, I'm investigating."

"Investigating what?"

"Missing reptites."

Lucca and Crono looked at each other. "I don't want to be insensitive", the latter said, "but don't you guys go missing all the time? If we hadn't shown up when we did, you'd probably be 'missing' right now."

"These ones are different. They've been meeting late at night, and are never heard from again."

"What, like a secret club?"

"Yeah. I don't know what that is."

"What he means is," Lucca interjected, "does it seem like the same reptites keep meeting secretly?"

"No. One, maybe two look the same, but that's because they wear really weird clothes. Others meet up with them, then get taken away, never to be heard from again."

Lucca gave Crono a look. He could tell that in her mind, this could be their first lead as to what might have happened here that interfered with history as they knew it. Personally, he didn't see the connection, but he also knew this would be more interesting than taking soil samples and writing about rocks.

"Sounds like you've been looking into this for awhile," he said. "have you found any clues to where they're going?"

"Oh, I know exactly where they're going."

An awkward pause filled the air around them. Eventually, Lucca took it upon herself to ask, "...and?"

"And, it might be easier if I just showed you, since you seem so keen on being helpful. Follow me."

The reptite led them in the opposite direction of the Epoch, assuring them the spot wasn't far. From his demeanour, Crono would never have guessed that he was running for his life a few moments ago. Fight or flight reactions had passed, and he had now moved on to the next order of business.

"So I hope you don't mind me asking", Lucca began, "but I couldn't help noticing you don't seem that surprised by our presence. By any chance, have you seen animals like us before?"

"The ones with hair? Sure, I see them all the time. Squeak a lot, run and hide at every loud noise. A little too bony for my taste."

"No, I mean ones that look exactly like us. Mostly only hair on the scalp, bipedal, drape ourselves in other animals' skins to stay warm..."

"Afraid not. I'll be honest, you two do look weird as hell to me, but you're also the first sentient creatures I've come across in awhile who've offered to help, so I'm not about to turn that down because you're kind of ugly."

A thought occurred to Crono. "Hey, Mr. Gallimim..., you know what, would you be offended if I just called you Galvin?"

"Well, that's just as meaningless as the other name you gave me earlier, so I can't see why I would. You *could* just ask me what I call myself. Is that not something you do where you're from?"

"Fair point", Crono said. "What's your name?"

"Kzzporqrzss."

"You're messing with me."

"You're right. I am."

"Fine then. 'Galvin' it is. So Galvin, you didn't really answer Lucca's question earlier. I get why you're looking for the missing reptites, but why are you doing it alone. Where's everyone else?"

"Well, the thing is, all of the missing reptites have been Straight-Beaks, which is why the rest of my herd has already left the area. Not their people, not their problem. Besides, if there's possible danger in the area, the easiest workaround is usually just to leave."

"I can't argue with that logic. So what's keeping you here?"

"Well, that line of thought's well and good if you know the danger's small enough that you can run away from it, but everything about this creeps me out. The straight beaks that are missing didn't look too upset when I spotted them in the woods before they vanished. Something strange is going on."

"So, what's a straight-beak?"

"A name we gave to a different kind of reptite. I'm sure the purple one has a much longer name she could give you instead."

Crono turned his attention to Lucca, who suddenly looked very put-upon.

"Fine. They're probably another branch of Ormithomimidae, if a slightly different beak is how your people distinguish yourselves from them. Are they also a little shorter and stockier, with one of their fingers a bit opposite of the others, like this?" She then stuck out her left hand and moved its thumb back and forth.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Galvin replied in a tone that betrayed no actual interest.

"They're probably Struthiomumus then. It means 'ostrich mimic', because we're a very creative people. That raises another question though... where are the other struthiomimuses in all of this? Even if your people don't care, shouldn't they?"

"I have no idea. At first when I tried to approach any of them about this they seemed really cagey, like they had not idea what I was talking about, and eventually I just gave up. It's part of what unsettles me about this so much."

"Well, we're here now." Lucca said, "I don't mean that in a reassuring way, I assume that's the place you were leading us to?"

Lucca pointed into the distance. There was a shelter a ways off. Barely a story high, with a thick coating of moss and vines. It had a cylindrical shape with a wide radius for its height, and a patch of sand on the ground surrounding it. As they drew nearer, the spots in between the vines showed that the structure was made of solid stone.

 

"So this is as far as you've gotten?" Crono asked.

"Yes. Every time I follow them, they always end up back here. Problem is... well, let me show you."

Galvin led them around to the other end of the shelter, where the cylindrical shape suddenly gave way to a flat wall, roughly eight feet high, with no foliage growing on it to speak of. The entire thing was covered in etchings that Crono could only assume was a form a reptite writing.

"A security door," Lucca said, "I guess that explains why you've been stuck doing reconnaissance work for so long. Can you read what it says?"

Galvin began reciting: "Take two from the column of five, and replace the seventh with red. What leaves the greatest despair?"

Crono blinked. "What is that, a riddle?"

"More likely it's some stupid pun, or inside joke", Galvin explained. "Like, the numbers could have to do with seven things the person who made this ate, so that only he would know where to start. See that?"

He pointed to a small slot, about 3 feet off the ground. It was an opening in the door, with a curved base, and a cover that could be pulled down to hide it. "Whatever the answer is, I think it's a physical thing you need to put in there, like a key that's also the answer to a question. I've lost count of how many things I've tried putting in there, though. It always just closes the lid, shudders a bit, then reopens."

"I think I get it," Crono replied, stroking his chin, "You're waiting for one of those reptites you're following to slip up, and accidentally let you see what they're using as a key?"

"No, forget that," Lucca said, not waiting for Galvin's answer. "We've got work to do."

She took a few steps forward, got down on one knee, and opened her shoulder bag while the other two took a step back. She glanced at the writing one more time, knocked on the wall in several spots, then reached into her bag.

"What is it, do you think you know the answer?" Galvin asked.

"Sure", Lucca said, as she pulled out a hand grenade, removed its pin and placed it in the slot. "Structural weakness."


	2. Into the awful breach

"Arg! Where do you even get those grenade-things anyway?" Crono shouted once the ringing in his ears began to die down.

"Oh, my mom taught me how to make them!" Lucca replied cheerfully.

"But she... that only raises... You know what, never mind. Let's get a move on."

Crono, Lucca, and the reptite they insisted on calling "Galvin" slowly made their way over the rubble and into the giant hole where the fortress's door once stood. Almost immediately, a fresh wave of heat hit them, making the already smoldering prehistoric climate that much more unpleasant. The crude stonework on the walls to either side resembled the exterior, but a thick coat of sweat, brought on by the humidity, coated everything and turned the decor a darker, nauseating shade.

Along the walls stone sconces rested, each containing flames that lid the way forward (but only added to the heat). The three wearily made their way down the hall, each on the lookout for anything unusual. Within minutes, Crono had removed his bandana in exasperation and Lucca her hat. Galvin remained unfazed, confusing Crono and making Lucca silently curse his cold-bloodedness.

“So you two seem pretty committed to this search for a couple of bald apes,” Galvin said as they made their way through, “What exactly are you hoping to gain from all this?”

“Answers, mostly,” replied Crono, “See, we're actually from the future, and we're here to see how much we've screwed up the past thanks to our past time travels.” At the look Lucca gave him, Crono added “...by... interfering with the time-line some more. Maybe we should stop mentioning that sort of thing in the future, huh?”

“Yeah, could you maybe not tell anyone else about that part?” Lucca added? “It would be a real favor to us.”

“To be frank, I haven't really understood half of what you two say. Including that. But sure, deal. It's good having some backup in situations like this anyway. Those tiny ape-hands are probably good for lots of stuff.”

At that observation, the three walked in an awkward silence for some time, following any route the halls took for them.

"Sooo... I don't suppose you have any idea what we should expect?" Crono finally asked as the hallway turned another corner.

"What, like, architecturally? How should I know? This whole place is really weird" Galvin replied.

"No, I mean, in terms of security. Y'know, armed guards, traps, that sort of thing?"

"Oh! Oh yes. Almost definitely."

The humans stopped for a moment, staring at Galvin in silence. Lucca turned around and noticed that, with only the few turns they'd made, any natural light that emanated from the entrance was already fading fast.

"Okay Galvin, new rule." she said, turning back to the others, "If there's something that you think might be important information, feel free to speak up at any time. Really, don't be shy."

Galvin made a motion with his arms that Crono assumed was the reptite-equivalent of a shrug, and the three continued onward.

Splitting up was out of the question: Lucca and Crono had long since learned this after one too many moments of each assuming they were the main character of this story and taking charge... on their own. Galvin, however, seemed much more keen to continue forward at an urgent pace, which the two took as a sign that they should probably follow his lead. Whether he had a plan or not, at least they felt like they were making progress.

That is, until they came across the trap.

"Wait," Crono began, "How are you getting 'trap' from this? It's just one dead reptite."

Towards the end of the proceeding hallway a reptite could be seen face-down and still. The encroaching smell hinted that it had been here for quite some time.

"Because it's one dead reptite with heavy tissue damage commonly found on hydrofluoric acid victims, not to mention -"

("Oh, so you've found some books on the different types of acid burns seen in prehistoric sentient reptiles now?" Crono thought to himself as he continued to listen quietly)

"-there's also a clearly distinctive hue and cut to the panels in this hallway. The fact that they look a little sunken around the body makes me suspect they stepped on a false tile and were rewarded for their efforts with some sort of acid drop from above."

Crono and Galvin looked at the ceiling ahead in unison. It was made of a stone like that used in the walls, but with a fine, intricate checkered pattern, akin to a metal grating. Beyond the stone, they could only make out blackness above.

"Okay..." Crono said, "so which ones are the right tiles?"

Lucca stared at him for a moment. "The what?"

"You know, the ones you're supposed to step on in the right order so you don't set the trap off? There's gotta be something like that, right? How else would they get across?"

"Uh, maybe there's a secret alternate route?" she replied, "Maybe whoever built this thing can fly? Maybe there's a switch on the other side and this poor creature was just too stupid to notice it? No offense, Galvin."

"Oh, don't worry. I haven't been listening." 

"My point is, there's lots of explanations that make more sense than there just being certain tiles that just HAPPEN to let you cross without issue." She then began knocking on the walls, listening for echoes and, Crono assumed, clues as to the traps mechinations.

"Alright," Crono conceded, "So what's the plan here? Backtrack and see if we missed some sort of secret?"

Galvin sniffed the air around them. "Doubtful. I've been trying to go by where the strongest scent of reptites is coming from, and this way's been the clear winner. Then again, maybe it's mostly coming from that guy" he added, pointing to the corpse.

"Still, worth a try. It's not like we have a whole lot of other options now, right Crono?

... Crono?"

A few moments passed, with Crono intently staring the tiles down the entire time.

"Lucca, you're not feeling fire-y" by any chance, are you?"

"What? Why?"

"Because I don't think I could get enough air to clear all of these tiles with my regular cyclone attack. We might need to break out our patented 'fire wheel'".

Galvin only blinked in response, but Lucca lowered her glasses just enough to be able to peer over them like a disappointed parent. "Crono, what did I tell you about only paying attention to two thirds of a conversation and still pretending you heard the whole thing?"

"Look, whatever's back there, it was valuable enough that someone's willing to drop vats of acid on anyone who even tries to get close. When, in all the time we've spent adventuring together, has this sort of thing not meant that we're on the right track?"

"That's..." Lucca began, before putting a finger to her chin, "not a terrible point."

"Besides, you know we're going to try to figure this out sooner or later. Just trust me, alright?"

Lucca let out a sigh, raised her right hand, snapped her fingers, igniting a small flame in mid-air. "If this doesn't work, you are NOT getting a proper burial."

"Duly noted" Crono replied, before unsheathing his sword.

He didn't doubt that making it over the gap was possible, but this would mark the first time he'd tried this technique without an actual target. For all he knew, that could make all the difference. Would it mess with the physics of it? But if that was the case, Lucca would probably know, and would have warned him already.

Right?

"Fire incoming!" he heard Lucca shout on cue, and a split second passed before the heat that was now engulfing his blade had spread to the hilt. Planning time was over. Crono took a deep breath and jumped forward.

For a brief moment, the feeling of weightlessness was normal to Crono; something he'd felt a thousand times before. As he made his way over the tiles, however, two thoughts occurred to him.

First, this was taking every ounce of his strength. Whatever he was doing to keep himself airborne, it only took a second before his arms felt like they were on fire. Second, after a few full spinning rotations, he was able to look behind him long enough to notice that Lucca and Galvin were now nowhere to be found. Traitors.

Eventually, a third realization dawned on him as well: He wasn't going to make it. He was covering a lot of the hall, sure, but there were a few feet left before him, and he could already feel himself losing altitude fast. It was a last ditch effort. Crono exhaled, let out a brief shout for vigor, and threw the still-flaming sword forward.

As he fell, Crono landed on his side and immediately ducked into a roll, inches away from the deceased reptite. Now tumbling forward, he could feel the tiles below him sinking ever so slightly. A sudden hiss could be heard from above, which only encouraged him to keep rolling mindlessly. Eventually, after another few moments of being neither dead nor in blinding pain, Crono finally turned to look behind him.

The acid was just finishing its drop. What still fell was colorless and indistinguishable from water to him, but he could tell from the way it sizzled as it hit the ground below that Lucca hadn't miscalculated. It was around that time that Crono remembered to start breathing again, his initial gasps heaving and strained. “I really hope Lucca doesn't think of an easier way we could have done that later,” he thought to himself.

After catching his bearings, Crono did a quick scan of the area. His now flame-less sword laid on the ground behind him, and to the left of the previous hallway, after another turn that was out of sight from the other end, he spotted an arched stairway. To it's right was a crude stone lever that jutted out from the wall. Crono stood up, brushed some of the grime off of his pants, and pulled the lever down. Like clockwork, a rumbling could be heard from above and a new layer of stone slid in place over top of the ceiling grates.

“Hey Lucca!” he shouted, “I guess they WERE just that stupid!”

From around the corner at the opposite end Lucca's head peaked out. Her and Galvin then gingerly began making their way down the hallway, extra-weary of their surroundings.

“You know,” Lucca began, her eyes firmly fixed on the new layer of stone above, “it now occurs to me that we probably could have just-”

“No. Shut up. Stop saying things.” Crono picked up his sword, scanned it for any chips or dents, and re-sheathed it once he was satisfied. Anyway, it looks like there's some stairs leading down ahead. Ready for level 2?”

Lucca pursed her lips. “Wait, if we're on level 1 now, wouldn't that make it level -1 we're going to?”

“What? No! By that logic it would just be level-”

“Whatever you two are talking about,” Galvin interrupted, “I can just smell that it's not important. Can we start walking again now, please?”


	3. Crono hates dinosaurs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three continue to investigate the strange reptite fortress, now getting both figuratively and literally in over their heads.

“So Galvin, I've been meaning to ask: what's your plan for when we find the missing reptites anyway,” Crono said as the three made their way down a narrow, winding stairwell. The steps were steep and uneven, and the occasional lit sconce provided just enough light for them to keep from tripping over themselves.

“Well, the 'find the missing reptites' part really sums it up, doesn't it?” Galvin replied, “I mean, once I've found them, they won't be missing anymore.” He remained a few steps behind the other two, partly to account for his different stride, but also so his two weird ape-cohorts might provide some cover for what awaited him at the bottom.

“Yeah, but... what about whoever's behind all this? Will you try to stop them yourself, or just let this other tribe take it from there?”

Galvin thought in silence for a moment. “I guess that depends on whether or not it looks like we can take them”, he said. “What, that's not how you two always do things?”

Soon, the stairway came to a halt, as did the sconces. The room they now stood in extended too far into the darkness for Crono and Lucca to gauge its size. The ground was damp and littered with straw, rubble, and the occasional pile of bones. As if on queue, Lucca rushed to the nearest pile, reaching for something in her satchel.

“These look aviary”, she said, “nothing larger than an adult duck, but I'm curious what traits these specimens might share with the birds from our own time.” She then pulled something out of the bag - a short, multi-sectioned metal bar - and twisted the bottom half. From the top emitted a feint, yellow light that illuminated a small area around her. “This thing won't last long”, she added, “so we should work fast.”

The gadget wasn't bright enough to light up the entire room, but it revealed enough for Crono to notice figures moving just out of his field of vision.

“Tell you what”, he started to say in a whisper, before realizing it was probably far too late for that, “you use your magic science stick to check **those** out instead, and I'll kill you as many birds as you like when we get back.”

Lucca turned in the direction Crono was pointing. The light shone through the diamond grid of a primitive cage, made from what looked to be the same material as the trap ceiling upstairs. On the other side at least half a dozen reptites scurried back and forth, each no taller than two feet.

The three approached the creatures, Lucca's light revealing more details with each step. “These the reptites you were looking for?” Crono asked.

“No, not even a little. But still... this is strange,” Galvin replied. “This species doesn't even normally live around these parts. Why would they bother collecting them just so you could leave them here?”

Crono nodded. “Any thoughts, Lucca?”

“Well, they've got hundreds of scates all along their back”, she said, pointing at the scales that Crono now realized had another name than 'scales', “and do you see their mouths? Tiny, almost like an equine's. Definitely a herbivore. I'd wager some relative of Scutillosaurus or Emausaurus, but-”

“Got it, great,” Crono said. “How are we in the 'plan' department?”

“Well, why don't you ask them?” she replied, not hiding her annoyance.

“Yeah, why not. You know me, I'm a great talker.” The cage had a small door, with a simple lock that could very well have been made of the same rubble that was strewn about the ground. Crono drew his sword, raised it over his head, and struck the lock with its hilt at full force. He could feel it shatter under the blow, the pieces falling to the ground.

Immediately, the door flew open, brushing Crono aside and knocking the wind out of him.He regained his composure just in time to see the reptites frantically escape. Lucca and Galvin stood wearily to the side as they made a beeline for the stairway. Realizing time was short, he lurched forward and leaped at a straggler's legs, hoping their top-heaviness made them easier to take down.

What he didn't account for was that, despite its tiny mouth, Scutellosaurus had a very nasty bite. The moment it felt Crono's hands it twisted its neck mid-stride, drove its tiny teeth into the nearest exposed flesh, then continued its escape while the would-be-assailant let go and doubled over with a high-pitched-scream.

The three watched helplessly as the last of the creatures scurried up the stairwell at rapid speed. From above them they heard the clammering of several tiny feet on the stairwell, before slowly fading out of earshot.

Within moments, they were once again alone in silence.

“I meant Galvin could talk to them”, Lucca finally said, “Like, while they were still in the cage.”

Galvin turned to look at her. “Uh, no I couldn't.”

“What? Why not?”

“Those things don't speak reptite. I don't think they're smart enough to speak anything. What, can every kind of mammal communicate in the same language where you're from?”

“Yes”, the two replied in unison: Lucca to save face, and Crono to mess with him.

Realizing any chance to look cool was lost, Crono slowly stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes. “Well, until we can prove otherwise, why don't we just assume I **didn't** just ruin everything?”

Lucca sighed. “Alright. Since they were in captivity, it's safe to say there must be others that operate here at least semi-regularly right? Maybe they've left something behind that'll shed some light on all this. Here, help me look.”

The two followed her into the cage, their eyes slowly adjusting to the dark with the aid of Lucca's torch. Inside they found more piles of bones that had long since been picked clean, but little else.

Soon after, Crono stopped suddenly. “Is it just me,” he said, “or is the floor in here a lot warmer than it was out there?”

Hearing this, Galvin stepped closer to Crono to investigate. Immediately he lowered his head and arms, muttering “Oh, yeah, that's the good stuff.”

They each felt around, comparing the temperature at different points, trying to pinpoint where the heat was cut off.

“Hmmm” Lucca began, “Makes sense they'd want to keep the cage heated, reptites being cold-blooded and all. The question is, how are they doing this?”

“Well I mean... fire, right?” Crono asked, “You were going to say fire?”

“Going where though? There wasn't any smoke coming out of the fortress, they couldn't just leave a fire burning in a sealed off room somewhere, it would suffocate. Or everyone else would, I suppose.”

“Yes, you're very clever.” Galvin said. He had his nose to the ground, a few paces away. “But if you two don't mind, I think I've found the spot where it's warmest in here..”

Galvin dragged a claw against the edge of the stone tile next to him. As he did so, it noticeably wobbled. Crono looked back at Lucca with a nod and drew his sword. Pressing the blade into the same crack, he hoisted back and propped the tile up at an angle. Once it was a few inches high, Lucca grabbed the edges and slowly pulled it aside.

The three then looked down into the room below.

“Huh...” Lucca said. “That might actually raise more questions than answers.”

Her and Crono remembered volcanites from their last trip to prehistoric times – it's hard to forget something like tiny sentient volcanoes with legs – but the metal plating on their cones was new, as was the emerald-green aura that was emitting from their vents.

“All right. How does this help us?” Galvin asked.

“That depends,” Crono replied, “is this another one of those reptites I should feel stupid for assuming you can talk to?”

“You know what? You're lucky you look like you'd taste terrible.”

Lucca ignored the other two, keeping her attention on the pit. There were four of the creatures down there, each moving much faster than she'd ever seen them go before. Rather than wandering back and forth on the floor together, they each seemed to be scaling a different wall, allowing maximum freedom of movement. Eventually, one stopped moving long enough for the green aura to become a sputtering liquid.

A split second later, a jet stream shot out horizontally at full speed. It didn't seem to leave a scratch on the opposite wall (“what the hell is that material made of, and where would they have gotten it?” she thought), but the heat that emanating from it sent her into a sudden sweat.

Whatever Crono and Galvin were arguing about, this now had their full attention.

“So... not into the radioactive volcano monster room, then?” Crono asked.

“Well just hold on a seco-”

“Oh God Damn It I **knew** you were going to have a reason to go into the radioactive monster room!”

“Just look, OK?” Lucca said, pointing to one of the room's corners. A square brown crevice was visibly different from the gray stone tiling that made up the rest of the room. A notch on its side contained a large dial that looked to be designed for something with a larger hand than a human's.

“What are the odds that's these people's version of a door?” Lucca asked, “It could be something like the feeding entrance of a zoo.”

“Does that... does that make sense?” Crono asked, turning to Galvin, “Do volcanites even need to eat?”

“How much time do you really think I spend around walking rock monsters that sometimes spit fire on you?” Galvin replied.

“You know what, you are almost... too helpful. Has anyone ever told you that? Are you getting sick of hearing it?”

“So what's the plan, smarter one?” Galvin asked, ignoring him. “Think it's worth checking out?”

Lucca responded by pulling out her side-arm with poorly hidden glee. “When it comes to science, everything's worth checking out.”

She then jumped through the hole, with Crono and Galvin following after a second or two of wondering what that even meant.

The three landed gracefully enough, rechecked their surroundings, and soon made two very important discoveries:

1) The cyborg volcanites were much larger up close.  
2) Judging by the way all four were now sputtering emerald-green liquid, they were fully aware they had company.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time on Mesozoic Madness: Things happen!

**Author's Note:**

> Made a few concessions, such as actual geographical locations of the dinosaurs referenced, but otherwise I'm trying to be respectful of the information we actually have about them. Feedback on both the story and on any iffy science facts are totally welcome.


End file.
